Failure to Gloat
by Trancy Phantomhive
Summary: -Supposedly sequel to "Of Affections and Dilemmas".- Kuran Kaname thinks that he can prove himself worthy of Kuran Yuuki's presence by showing her that he can play Tennis very well this time. But does it go as planned? No, it doesn't. /Oneshot./


**Disclaimer:** _I am not Hino-sensei, therefore I do not own "Vampire Knight" or anything related to this manga, game and anime._

**Author's Note:** _This is (supposedly) the sequel for "Of Affections and Dilemmas", but I think I'll write a much "refined" one than this. While waiting for it, I hope you'll enjoy reading this. **Warning for slight OOCness and randomness of characters.

* * *

**_

_**"Failure to Gloat"**_

_**

* * *

**_

"Somebody tell me how I got into this mess . . . _again_," an exasperated Kiryuu Zero practically growls at every vampire present. Damn his continuous bad luck; damn all vampires in this world; damn Kuran Yuuki for being able to manipulate him into coming along; damn his stupidity for believing her!

"Don't be such a killjoy, Zero," Yuuki pouts in a childish manner, crossing her slender arms in front of her chest. Jeez, Zero is such a pessimist! How can he think so negatively? It isn't like they're going to kill him—yet—anyway. She has _'invited'_ him because he _'looked' _lonely, sitting at the corner of his room and trying not to jump the nearest human being for blood.

"Kuran Yuuki-san," a velvety voice says from behind the caramel-haired Pureblood.

Yuuki turns around, smiling sheepishly at the sight of the other Pureblood, whilst Zero freezes, one hand itching to get his Bloody Rose out of his pocket and shoot until the vampire dies. "Hello, Shirabuki Sara-san . . ." Yuuki greets in an almost inaudible and ungraceful manner. She offers a hand out for the blonde Pureblood to shake, which Sara accepts without much a second thought.

Sara smiles a beautiful yet tired smile as she eventually takes her hand back, in fear that Yuuki may, yet again, shake them until the next day. That particular event at one party is still fresh in her mind . . .

_"Good evening, Kaname-san," Shirabuki Sara greets in a polite manner, shaming all other vampires who had years of practise. It looks like they can never beat a Pureblood who is a natural with these things, and when it also comes to grace and excellent manners._

_"Oh, who is this?" Sara asks, her body sparkling with infinite beauty, shaming, yet again, other vampires and humans that had to undergo plastic surgery._

_A woman with straight, waist-length sepia-coloured hair and mesmerising russet orbs turns around to look at the lady behind her. She smiles nervously, her body trembling ever so slightly at the sight of Sara. "H_—_How do you do? I_—_I'm Kuran Y_—_Yuuki; it's nice to meet you," Yuuki stutters, blushing furiously in embarrassment. She clutches the sleeve of her lover's dinner jacket to prevent herself from bursting into tears. Yuuki is not one for occasions as extravagant as this; she doesn't like formality._

_"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Yuuki-san," Sara curtsies to Yuuki, bowing her head to hide the smug smirk plastered on her delicate face. She straightens up, smiling charmingly at Kuran Kaname and chuckles, "I never knew you had a sister, Kaname-san. I thought you were an only child, no?"_

_"Good evening to you too, Sara-san," Kaname greets monotonously, nodding at the attractive female vampire before him. "And yes, Yuuki is my sister and she is also my fiancée," Kaname answers Sara's question with a proud smile directed to the shy girl beside him. He touches Yuuki's hand that is gripped on his dinner jacket, giving it a gentle squeeze that tells her everything is alright._

_Yuuki relaxes a bit from Kaname's touch, leaning on his muscular arm as she breathes in his scent. She always feels safe whenever Kaname's around, because she knows that he will never fail to protect her, even though she wishes that she'll protect him, too, in return. Yuuki is contented having her betrothed by her side._

_. . . While Sara isn't. Her smile and elegant brows are twitching in annoyance. Seriously! That girl is getting rather too affectionate with the man she lusts for. She hates seeing another woman cling to Kaname and act so innocent that everyone'll pity and find her cute when she isn't! Sara clears her throat in order to get the lovers' attention and smiles her favourite plastic smile, "It would seem that I'm interrupting your lovely time, no? Well, see you around; I have to greet the other guests."_

_Yuuki, as if finally breaking her shell, frantically waves her hands in front of her. "Oh, no! You aren't interrupting us, Sara-san; it's not like that!" Yuuki takes hold of Sara's hands, much to the other Pureblood's surprise and discomfort, and begins to shake them violently._

_Kaname sighs, knowing all too well that it's going to be a while before Yuuki lets go. What he doesn't expect is the fact that it can last until the following day . . ._

"How are you doing in this fine day, Yuuki-san?" Sara questions amiably, reminding her self of mannerisms. It isn't good to lose her _'cool'_ in this place, let alone around noble vampires. She knows that if she does anything funny, those _'underlings' _of the Kuran siblings will attack her without much of a thought.

"Great, Sara-san! I assume you are, too, as well?" Yuuki grins after a while of calming her self down. Sara is like any of them there, except that she's older and probably powerful compared to her. There isn't a need to be alert, right? After all, it's not like Sara is planning on erasing her existence for eternity. Oh, the irony.

"Yes, Yuuki-san," the blonde Pureblood nods in a refined manner. "But where is Kaname-san? I haven't seen him around," Sara adds as her gaze drifts across the local park. She can see stone pavements, trees, bushes, flowers and whatnot, but a certain figure is not there . . . not to mention, humans, as well.

_Don't tell me that I went to all of the trouble in getting here, under the sun's uncomfortable heat, and learn that Kaname-san won't be present? I knew I should've just stayed at home and toy around Ichi_— Sara shakes her head to get rid of the thoughts forming in her mind. Sure, she agrees with herself that she shouldn't have come, but letting an opportunity—seeing Kaname—like this slip is going to be a waste! Plus, she may be able to cling to his arms like _that little brat_ this time!

"Kaname? Oh, he said that he's getting a drink for the two of us. But I'm kinda worried; I mean, I'm not sure whether he knows how to use a vending machine or not," Yuuki sighs dramatically, as if it's the biggest problem her fiancé's ever going to face. Oh, she doesn't know how right she is . . .

* * *

"How do one use this?" Kaname asks himself, raising an eyebrow in confusion as he stares at the vending machine in front of him. He has been standing there—_staring_—for a whole ten minutes without much progress. He resists the urge to sigh and scratch his hair as it isn't his style to do so. Why does he have to be so stubborn?

Kaname looks at the vending machine in every angle until he finds the instructions. _Ah, so this is how you do it?_ he thinks, digging in his pocket to retrieve his wallet just to feel . . . nothing. He inwardly groans at his stupidity; how can he forget about his wallet? Wait, does _he_ even _have_ one? Maybe he does have one; maybe he forgot it at home.

It seems like he won't be buying himself and Yuuki some soda . . . or will he? He _promised_ his beloved that he'll buy them drinks; he can't afford to sadden Yuuki just because he doesn't have any money! Perhaps he should break the vending machine instead? No, that would get him into jail and he perfectly knows that Yuuki won't like it.

Damn this is going to be hard.

He decides to just tell Yuuki the truth and forget about the whole _'drinks'_ thing. He's sure that Yuuki would forgive him, because she's an obedient and selfless person, right? Kaname mustn't doubt her, for he knows her more than she knows herself. _Then again_, isn't what he's planning _'taking advantage of his lover's wonderful nature'_? No, he would never do that!

. . . Or will he?

Minutes of pondering has passed and Kaname makes up his mind to go back. He doesn't think that making Yuuki wait for an hour would be a good thing.

* * *

"What took you so long, Kaname?" Yuuki demands in a cute way, tapping her foot on the stone pavement beneath her to show that she is losing patience. She sends him a mock glare as she points at their vampire companions which are all looking bored.

Shiki Senri and Touya Rima are sitting under the cherry blossom tree, eating Aidou's Pocky slowly; Kain Akatsuki and Souen Ruka are in a deep discussion about random things Yuuki can't seem to follow; Aidou Hanabusa is lying on the grassy plains with his face buried in the long grasses for some odd reason; Ichijou Takuma is reading a manga, a collar attached to his neck which Sara forced him to wear; Seiren is somewhere in the park, doing her usual thing, which no one knows what exactly; Sara is staring at Kaname with sparkling sapphire orbs; and Zero is glaring at Kaname with hatred.

Sweat-dropping, Kaname hugs Yuuki in apology, causing a certain blonde Pureblood to destroy a statue in jealousy. "I'm sorry, Yuuki, but I don't have the money to buy them."

A deafening silence engulfs them as everyone stops to gape at their respected leader in disbelief. He doesn't have money? That's insane! Kaname has tons of them—maybe even more than a multi-billionaire has!—yet he claims that he doesn't?

"Hahaha," Zero laughs in a mocking manner, making everyone—except Kain, Shiki, Rima and Ichijou—glare at him. He ignores them, leaning on the trunk of the tree and crossing his arms in boredom. Can't they just get it started and over with?

"I—It's okay, Kaname; no need to apologise," Yuuki says, assuring her fiancé that there's nothing to apologise for. She pulls away, smiles warmly at Kaname and takes his hand as she leads him to their _'battlefield'_, the others following them.

_Ah, the tennis courts. I'm going to make sure that Yuuki and I will be able to play a decent game this time_, Kaname thinks as they near the tennis courts . . .

. . . only to pass by it and stop in the middle of the basketball courts.

He blinks, and so does the others, staring dumbfoundedly at the basket. He glances at Yuuki sideways, receiving an innocent smile as she goes up to stand in front of him, a basketball ball in her hands.

"I thought you might like Basketball better than Tennis, Kaname. Besides, it's refreshing to play a different sport than playing the same one, right?" Yuuki smiles a close-eyed smile, swaying on her spot. She looks at him from under her eyelashes, adding, "Right?"

"Yes, of course," Kaname returns her smile with a gentle one, but he has this disappointed feeling that he can't show off in front of her. _If only I knew this is what we were going to play, I wouldn't have had buried my head in numerous books concerning Tennis_.

"Then, let's get started!" Yuuki beams, pulling Kaname to stand on the free throw line. She hands over the ball to him and says in an excited tone, "Try shooting the ball! I'm sure you can do it."

"Hmm," Kaname responds, balancing the ball in his hands. He lifts his arms up, ready to shoot when suddenly . . .

. . . he hears continuous clicking coming from the right-hand side.

Kaname blinks, and so does Yuuki and the others present, searching for the source of those clicking sounds until it lands on a certain blonde vampire with sapphire-coloured eyes.

Shirabuki Sara is busily taking pictures of Kuran Kaname with her trusty camera. She positions the camera in various angles, capturing the so-called _'essence'_ of the wondrous Pureblood male. She stops taking pictures when Kaname clears his throat in discomfort.

"Sara-san, I appreciate you catching every moment while it lasts, but I'll appreciate it more if you stop doing that," Kaname says in mild exasperation. He doesn't like the idea of _somebody_, other than Yuuki, taking photos of him. He knows that his fiancée has an unthinkable obsession with him, but Sara-san? That's quite an unbelievable revelation.

"My sincere apologies, Kaname-san," Sara responds in faux apology because, in truth, she doesn't feel the slightest of guilt. As a matter of vast fact, she feels _extremely_ bliss that she gets to have . . . _'memories'_ of today's moments. Seeing Kaname is very rare for her, after all, as he tends to avoid her for some unspoken reason.

"Um, you guys? Can we get back to shooting hoops?" Yuuki waves her hand in front of the two Pureblood's faces. Really now! How can they forget their purpose in that place? They did not go to the Basketball courts to have a chit-chat!

". . . Shooting hoops?" Sara and Kaname simultaneously asks in confusion. What does that mean?

"It means 'to play basketball'. Jeez, Kuran, I never knew you were this low. That's so sad," Zero says with a smirk, rolling his lilac eyes at the pitiful Ancestor. Zero has recently known that Kaname is actually an ancestor. Where he got this information, he doesn't know for sure.

"Shut up, Kiryuu Zero!" Aidou growls from his place, ice already forming on the ground as it advances towards the Hunter. His attack stops an inch before it reaches the silver-haired male as a slap resonates the courts.

Everybody keeps quiet, staring at the scene unfolding before them. Kaname slaps Aidou, his hand freezes mid-air after the impact, face unreadable, whilst Aidou staggers dramatically, his head turning to the side _really _slowly.

"Aidou-san is incredibly lame, don't you think?" Shiki states monotonously, receiving tons of nods in agreement in response.

"Shut it, Shiki!" Aidou exclaims in aggravation, a vein popping on his temple. He clenches and unclenches his fists over and over in order to calm himself down. He can't afford to look _'uncool'_ in front of his idol, Kaname.

"But what Shiki said is true, you know. You _are_ lame, Aidou," Ruka announces smugly, turning her back on the vexed blond vampire. "Don't you think so too, Akatsuki?" she asks, noticing how troubled the camboge-haired fellow standing to her left-hand side is.

"Huh? Uh, yeah," Kain replies uncertain, rubbing the back of his head with a sigh.

"What the hell! Akatsuki, how could you be so—" The three noble vampires', actually two as Kain is dragged by Ruka, argument continues on.

"—Ichijou-san, how does it feel being tied up like a dog?—"

"—Not very comfortable if you ask me, Shiki.—"

"—Need help, Ichijou-san?—"

"—No thanks; I'm fine, Rima.—"

"—Sara-san, please stop taking pictures. I. Mean. It.—"

"—Oh, come on, Kaname-san! Just one more photo!—"

Yuuki can't help but shake her head in a disapproving way, watching everyone bicker in the basketball courts.

How can they find playing a _single sport_ so hard? They only need to shoot the balls inside the basket to score, and yet there everybody is, busy fighting against each other.

Yuuki groans, face-palming at the comical scenes before her. Looks like she and Zero are the only ones sane around here.

_Kami-sama, please help us!_


End file.
